Improvement in machines for clasping hoops to ladies  skirts



v 2 Shets-Sheet 1. B. A. MANN.

I Hoop Skirt Machine. I No. 34,026. Patented Dec. 24,1861.

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N. PETERS. Phuwmnn m har. Wuhinglon, D.C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BELA A. MANN, OF WEST MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO JEDEDIAH XVILCOXAND H. H. MILLER, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR CLASPING HOOPS TO LADIES SKIRTS.

Specification forming part of Let ters Patent No. 34,026, dated December24, 1861.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BELA A. MANN, of West Meriden, in the county of NewHaven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Machinefor Clasping Hoops to Ladies Skirts; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, referencebeing had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification,in which- Figure 1 is a front view of my invention; Fig. 2,alongitudinal vertical section of the same, taken in the line 00 m ofFig. 1; Fig. 3, a horizontal section of a part of the same, taken in theline y y of Fig. 2; Fig. 4:, an enlarged detached side sectional View ofa portion of the same; Fig. 5, an enlarged front view of a detachedportion of the same; Fig. 6, a view of a portion of a hoop-skirt,showing the work performed by the machine; Fig. 7, a section of Fig. 6,taken in the line 2 z; and Fig. 8 an inverted perspective view of aclasp.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

The object of this invention is to obtain a machine by which the hoopsof ladies hoopskirts may be rapidly clasped to the tapes thereof, andthe work performed in a superior manner.

The invention consists in the employment or use of a hopper andfeeding-plate, the lat ter being peculiarlyconstructed and arranged andused in connection with a clinching mechanism, all being so arrangedthat the clasps, as the machine is operated, will be fed down in aproper manner to the clinching device, which is operated by the foot ofthe attendant and made to perform the desired work, the parts to beconnected (the hoops and tapes) being presented to the machine by thehands of the attendant.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct myinvention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents the stock or frame of the machine, which is composed of ahorizontal arm, a, projecting from a short upright pillar, b, on abase-plate, 0. These parts may be of cast metal, and the pillarb andplate 0 may be cast in one pieee,while the arm a maybe cast separate andsecured to the top of the pillar b by screws d. The pillar b has a slotor recess, 6, made in it, through which a lever, B, passes, thefulcrum-pin f of the lever passing through lugs or projections at thefront part of the pillar.

C is a spring, which is secured to the back part of the baseplate 0, andacts against the under side of the back part of lever B, and has atendency to keep the front end of said lever in a downward position, aswill be understood by referring to Fig. 2. The back end of the lever Bis connected by a rod or chain to a treadle, which may be arranged inthe usual way. The base-plate c is bolted to a bench or framing of sucha height as to admit of the attendant or operator sitting while at workwith the machine.

D is a rod, which is fitted vertically in the back part of the arm a,and may be secured higher or lower in position by means of a setscrew,g. The upper part of the rod D is curved slightly forward, and has ahorizontal bar, E, attached to it, which bar forms a support for thefront end of a hopper, F, and the back end of a feeding-plate, G. Thefront end of the feeding-plate rests on the top of an upright head orbar, H, which is at the front end of the arm a, and may be cast with itin one piece. The back of the hopper F rests on the upper and horizontalpa1t of a rod, I, the lower part of which is inclined and is fitted in aslide, J on the rod D, said slide being secured on the rod at anydesired point by a set-screw, h. (See Fig. 2.) By adjusting the slide Jhigher or lower on the rod D a greater or less inclination may be giventhe hopper F, and the feeding-plate G may be more or less inclined byadjusting the rod D higher or lower in the arm a. This will be fullyunderstood by referring to Fig. 2.

The hopper F is simply a shallow sheetmetal box or pan of rectangularform open at its front end, and having a short vertical plate or ledge,co fitted obliquely at its front part and right-hand side, as shown inFig. 1.

The feeding-plate G has a more inclined position than the hopper F, andit may be described as being a plane with two bars, 1' j, attachednearly or about at right angles with each other. (See Fig; l.) The barsij are not in contact, a space, it, being between them, and each bar hasa groove, Z, made in the lower part of its face side, both of which areshown in Fig. 2. The bars 'Zj maybe termed conductors, as they conductthe clasps from the hopper F to the passage-way which leads them to theplace where they are acted upon by the clinching device. Thispassage-way is formed of two vertical plates, on m, and a groove, '22,the plates being secured to the front side of the head or bar, H, with asmall or narrow space, 0, between them, as shown in Fig. 1. The plates man overlap the edges of the groove n, which is made vertically in thefront of the head or bar 11. (See Fig. 3.)

The feeding-plate G has an oblong slot or opening, 12, made through itat its front part, near the upper ends of the plates on m. This slot oropening is quite near the bar j, as will be seen by referring to Fig. 1,and it performs an important function, as will be presently explained.The lower ends of the vertical plates on m are curved so as to projectunderneath the front part of the head or bar H, as shown in Figs. 2 and4.

I I represent two plates which are underneath the head or bar H, justback of the lower ends of the plates on m. The plates I I have each anupright flange, (1, at their back edges, and these flanges overlap eachother and are secured to the head or bar II by a screw, r. The plates II therefore, it will be seen, are suspended from the screw 0', theflanges q 1 being allowed to work freely 011 it. Each flange g has asmall hook or pin, 3, attached, and around these pins a spring, 2,passes. This spring may be of india-rubber or other suitable elasticmaterial, and it has a tendency to keep the inner edges of the plates II in contact, in which position they are somewhat inclined, as shown inFigs. 1 and 5.

On the front end of the lever B, at its upper surface, there is secureda steel plate, J, which has an upright ledge, u, at each end. Theseledges are each provided with a notch, 11. (See Figs. 3 and at.) At thecenter of the plate J there is also a small ledge or projection, w,which has a groove made longitudinally in its upper surface, said groovebeing of semicircular form in its transverse section, as shown in Fig.4.

The clasps K, which are used with the machine, are of the ordinaryconstruction, two

prongs, a a, projecting from a plate, 1), as

motion. The clasps pass down against the bar i in an inverted position,and are conducted by said bar to bar j, one side of the plates Z) of theclasps fitting in the grooves Z of the bars 1' said grooves Z serving tokeep the clasps in proper position. The bar j conducts the clasps to thepassage-Way formed by the plates m m and groove 41, and this passage-waymaybe filled with clasps, the prongs a of which project through thespaoeo. The lowermost clasp, K, has an upright position, as the lowercurved ends of the plates m m conduct it between the plates I I, whichretain it in such position directly over the ledge 10 of .the plate J,one of the plates I being notched at its inner edge to receive theclasp. In case a clasp should not be in proper position against the barj, it cannot pass the slot or opening 1), as the latter is so close to jthat a clasp in an improper position would fall through said slot intobox L. The clasps, when in proper position, are retained against thebar, in consequence of the end of the plates 1) being in the groove Z,and when this is not the case the clasps must fall through the slot oropening. The operator places the hoop M on the plate J, the loop Z) ofthe tape N being in the ledge w, and the back end of the lever B isdrawn suddenly down by the action of the foot of the operator on thetreadle, and the front end of the lever B is forced upward, and theprongs a, a of the clasps will be forced through the edges or sides ofthe loop I) and through the. tape N, and coming in contact with theconcave or semicircular-grooved surface of the ledge 10 will be clinchedat the under side of the tape N, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig.at. The hoop M is moved along on the plate J, and is secured to everytape'of the skirt in the way described. The clasps K feed themselvesdown in the passage-way behind the plates m m by their own gravity, andas the clasps K are clinched the plates I I are forced upward and apartby the action of the ledge to, (see dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 5,) soas to release the clinched clasp, the plates I I instantly closing underthe action of the spring 15 as the plate J and ledge to descend.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The inclined hopper F and feeding-plate G, when arranged so as to beadjusted by the rods D I, and used in connection with a clinchingdevice, for the purpose herein set forth.

2. The bars j, placed obliquely on the feeding-plate G, provided withgrooves Z, and used in connection with the slot or opening 10,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The passage-way for the clasps K, formed of the plates m 0%, attachedto the head or bar H, and groove 01, made therein, when said passage-wayis used in combination with the feeding-plate G and the clinching deviceand arranged therewith, as and for the purpose specified.

L. The clinching device formed of the plate J, attached to lever B orits equivalent and provided With the ledge w, having a concave orgrooved upper surface, in combination with the clasp-sustaining plates II, attached to the head or barrel H, and arranged in relation with theplates m m and groove n, substantially as and for the purpose herein setforth.

BELA A. MANN. Witnesses:

GEORGE W. SMITH, GEORGE W. ROGERS.

